Category Archives: Social Justice

The War on Women being waged in Washington and in the States is an attack on women‘s lives, bodily sovereignty, autonomy, and agency. This year marks the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade and we will NOT GO BACK to the days of illegal abortions! Women are not brood mares, incubators, or chattel and abortion is a woman’s choice, and hers alone. We vehemently reject the incursions of the radical religious right into our bedrooms and the legislation of our bodies to fit the fundamentalist Christian worldview and we will not sit by and see our basic human rights eroded by those who would coerce us into unwanted childbearing.

“Motherhood by Choice, Not Chance,”directed by Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman, is a new film celebrating the freedom of choice ushered in by the cherished 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. To watch this quality film, and the abortion rights trilogy, “FROM the BACK-ALLEYS to the SUPREME COURT & BEYOND” go to:

This is an inspiration story by Democracy NOW! about indigenous “occupiers” (our word) in Mexico and their 20-year resistance to NAFTA, rejection of the Mexican government, and how they built an autonomous, egalitarian, self-government alternative to the corrupt authoritarian state.

Read another article on the Alternet at http://www.alternet.org/belief/if-only-right-wing-christian-evangelicals-knew-where-their-ideas-came, arguing that evangelical fundamentalists have a progressive history in the 19th century and suggesting that perhaps when the GOP/TeaParty crumbles, progressives should consider aligning themselves with them. The author offhandedly remarks that progressives may have to think “strategically” about possibly teaming up with them for equal pay, for example, even though it might mean compromising on abortion or gay rights, surmising from his comment that there may be “good arguments on both sides.” My answer to that is, “Are you crazy?!”

What kind of “progressive” movement are you left with when you’re willing to trade away women’s or LGBT human rights for equal pay?! Any movement that coerces women into unwanted childbearing would properly be called an authoritarian, ultra-right, fascist patriarchy, not a “progressive evangelical movement,” an oxymoron if there ever was one. And what would the “good arguments on both sides” be, pray tell, that male supremacism is blessed by God and that abortion is “murder”? Why should anyone “compromise” with extremist fanaticism?

These are people to challenge, not embrace, and indeed the radical religious right have been the lunatic fringe and undoing of both the GOP and the tea party and would stop at nothing until they establish an horrifically oppressive theocracy, regardless of any progressive history or association with populism. They are the core of the sanctimonious, hypocritical, meanspirited GOP, and a bigger threat to human rights and social justice than either the establishment Republicans or the tea party are without them and who both factions should unceremoniously dump if they hope to have a prayer of surviving politically. But more importantly, because the 20th century GOP have virtually nothing to offer anyone (other than the corporate elite) and the Tea Party has nothing to offer that true progressives (I’m not talking the mediocre, cave-in-to-the-right spineless Democrats here) do much better, like peace and civil liberties, I would be among those who would welcome their all going the way of the dinosaurs.

Due to the malfeasance of Wall Street banksters causing the mortgage crisis and the world economy to crash, and now the corporate puppets in congress insisting on austerity, we are experiencing an epidemic of hunger, poverty, and homelessness. Predatory banks have foreclosed upon people illegally, jobs have vanished, and we the people are being dispossessed.

Unchecked carbon emissions have altered the atmosphere and the resulting climate change is causing record droughts and famines. At the same time, our food supply is being threatened and controlled like never before. Pesticide companies like Monsanto have patented genetically-modified seeds that can withstand toxic chemicals like the neonicotinoids research has identified as responsible for the destruction of bee colonies and are pushing Frankenfood onto consumers, without GMO labelling.

We are facing a worldwide crisis perpetrated by corporate giants who would extend their corporate rule through the abuse of our Bill of Rights by corporate “personhood” nationally, and globally by “treaties” like the TPP. Citizens, voters, consumers are the losers and we must join together and fight for our right to decent work at a liveable wage, affordable housing, and a safe and nutritious food supply.

We honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of non-violence as well as recognize the 3rd year anniversary of the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Many times, especially in the aftermath of violence like the recent school shootings, it is difficult to see the big picture and the interconnectedness of events, as we are overwhelmed by sorrow and a marrow-deep feeling of helplessness, and at first blush, these two symbolic dates may seem unrelated. They are not.

We recognize Dr. King’s birthday because he is a powerful symbol for peace and non-violent protest and we recognize the anniversary of Citizens United because it is a symbol of how out-of-control corporate influence and the pursuit of violence for profit is in this country. The theme today is “Peace or Profit: Violence as Commodity.” We chose this title to highlight the fact that this is indeed the choice and that there is a bigger pattern at play that needs to be illuminated. We can choose peace, or we can choose to allow runaway corporate profiteering off violence in all its forms: endless wars, weapons, defense contracts, the war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on workers, the war on homeowners, the war on women and minorities, the war on the earth.

Some would say that we have peace here in America because we so aggressively protect our country from terrorism, but the truth is we are at war in the Middle East because of corporations protecting their oil interests and their profit margin and because they make billions from war itself. But corporations are also at war with the citizens of this country, and anyone is expendable in the pursuit of profit.

Achieving peace requires treating people and the earth with respect, a willingness to share wealth, and cooperation that can come from only a democratic system based on fairness, a level playing field, and the rejection of exploitation and violence, including economic violence, which today is being perpetrated by the 1% onto the 99% in a massive redistribution of wealth from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich. The corporate elite have subverted our democracy for their own uses and have distorted it into a plutocracy.

The corporate world and the military-industrial complex profit greatly from, and are addicted to, violence, which has been turned into a commodity to be traded and sold for the profit of the 1% at the expense of the 99%. Violence, exploitation, and coercion are hallmarks of unbridled capitalism and greed, and corporate greed for profit is poisoning our society by nurturing sociopathy and turning the entirety of civilization and the earth itself into a perpetual war zone.

What are we to do about this? Many solutions are being proffered to address gun violence and campaign contributions, but while getting money out of politics and instituting some limits on the selling of any gun to anyone, are examples of how corporate abuse of our democratic system could be stemmed somewhat, there is a larger problem: corporate “personhood” and money as “speech.” This goes back much further than the 2010 Citizens United decision, to 1886 in fact, when the Supreme Court declared in Southern Pacific Railroad v. Santa Clara County that corporations are “persons.” Since that time, thousands of subsequent decisions have reinforced this misguided notion and allowed corporations to exploit this illegitimate status by claiming they have “rights” under the Bill of Rights, which was meant exclusively for actual people, not artificial entities like corporations, which are legal fictions. The end result is we now have corporate rule of every aspect of our lives. Let me give you an idea of the scope of the problem.

The Corporation controls:

Our industry – small mom and pops and independent businesses have increasingly been taken over by large corporations like Wal-Mart and the laws have been re-written to favor them

Our banks – small, independent, local banks have been taken over by huge multinationals who have engaged in criminal practices that have crashed domestic and foreign economies and who continue to illegallyforeclose on homeowners

Our airwaves – corporate giants have taken over major networks: GE (NBC), Disney (ABC), Westinghouse (CBS), Time-Warner, individualmedia moguls like Rupert Murdoch control huge markets (FOX Networks, 20th Century FOX, etc.) and Pat Robertson (Christian Broadcasting Network) while simultaneously fighting to end public television and radio, which is one of the only independent alternatives

The Internet – Internet Service Providers like AT & T, Verizon, Time-Warner track usage, attempt to curtail or eliminate access, pressure the FCC for authority to control online activity, back bills like SOPA, PIPA, and CISPA

Our drug policy – corporate interests support the “war on drugs”, thereby perpetuating a black market and violent cartels and the criminalizing of substances like marijuana in order to maximize profits from legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco)

Our commons – corporations bankrupt local governments, convert and take over public land, property, and infrastructure for private purposes and corporate gain; exploit natural resources—minerals, forests, oil, water–for private profit with no concern for environmental and health consequences while paying no royalties

Our government – Congress, the White House, and the Courts

1. Lobbying and the revolving door – corporations manipulate congress, regulatory agencies for the benefit of private enterprise to the detriment of the taxpayer and voter

2. Elections – corporations buy elections by funneling huge donations into campaigns while trying to suppress the vote of those who would oppose them

4. Legislation – corporations support and even write laws that benefit corporate interests rather than the interests of the people and fight passage of laws that would protect the citizenry

5. Ballot Initiatives – powerful corporate interests promote ballot initiatives that are often wolves in sheeps’ clothing that serve their interests at the people’s expense while dumping huge sums of money into defeating others like the tobacco industry did with Prop 29 in CA June 2012.

Corporate “personhood” and money as “speech” are at the core of this systemic sickness of profiting from violence, exploitation, and the stripping away of the constitutional rights of real people that has infected not only our nation but our world. There have been plenty of attempts to try to legislate campaign contributions, as well as environmental rights, workers’ rights, gun control, protect our food supply, and many other issues, all to no avail because the corporate world can and does litigate all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary on the basis of their supposed “rights” as “persons” being abridged or denied. “Personhood” was the prize they sought back in the 1800’s because they knew it would enable them to challenge every single law that local, state, or federal governments tried to pass to limit their abuses and protect the economy and the citizenry.

For example, money as “speech,” which was expanded upon in Citizens United, is based on the First Amendment, to which corporations have been enabled to claim they have a right because they have been recognized by the Supreme Court as “persons.” This decision allowed corporate interests representing the 1% to contribute millions of dollars in this last election cycle and will continue to allow the outright buying of elections and representation until we pass an amendment to the Constitution correcting this misappropriation of personhood standing to artificial entities, because any legislation that is passed will be struck down by the courts until “personhood” that was wrongly awarded to corporations is abolished.

People who are aligned with corporations will be the last to acknowledge the clear choice between profit or peace and that violence has been turned into a commodity by corporate greed, but eventually even their denial will be shaken I believe as the dark side of the corporate world is exposed to the light of day. The recent shootings reveal this to an excruciating degree as weapons and munitions manufacturers profit exponentially in the wake of these tragedies like Newtown, something they bank on and which they work to ensure through organizations like the NRA.

The TPP, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership “treaty”, also known as NAFTA on steroids, is another extreme current example of the insidious overreach of corporations and the extent to which they have infiltrated and control both major parties and run, and will even trump, government if TPP passes, as it will institute corporate world government where corporate tribunals will have the final say. It is vital that the public be made aware of these attempts to circumvent democracy and nullify the will of the people and the fact that nothing short of a constitutional amendment will remedy these abuses of power and unrelenting attacks on our freedoms.

Though the process is difficult and requires a sustained effort, the fix to the massive amount of problems we face is elegantly simple because all of them are traceable back to the abuse of the misguided notion of corporate “personhood.” Once this is corrected, laws can be passed to regulate corporate excesses and they will stick, because there won’t be any basis upon which to challenge them. Our non-partisan organization, Move to Amend, is building a grassroots movement towards this end, and keeps its eye singlemindedly on the goal of returning the power to the people via constitutional amendment to end corporate “personhood” and money as “speech.”

Our government has been bought and has allowed the corporate world to monopolize every sector of our economy and commit unspeakable crimes against humanity and the environment while escaping all accountability, paying no taxes, shipping our jobs overseas, and bankrupting our country while getting government contracts, subsidies, and bailouts. All of this has been made possible by the expansion of the unconstitutional concept of corporate rights. This insanity has to end.

Honoring peace, remembering our dead who are victims of all the forms of violence, and finding solutions means not only addressing the immediate crisis, but turning away from violence for profit and illuminating the clear choice between profit or peace by expanding the conversation to all of the ways in which violence is perpetrated, not simply by individuals with guns. We are either building peace and non-violence, or we are destroying it through pursuing profit through violence. As long as corporations and the profit motive rule, we will never have peace.

We must amend the Constitution to end the corporate takeover that has allowed the wealthy elite to ruin our economy, strangle our democracy, commodify and profit from violence and destroy our society, our country, and our world. Join us at Move to Amend in reclaiming our democracy by working for a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate “personhood” and money as “speech” so that we may build a healthy society and world not based on profit, but on peace!

One of the biggest reasons legalization of cannabis continues to be fought so hard is because Big Pharma wants to synthesize, monopolize, and capitalize on it and its use. But from what I understand, it is the full complement of natural cannabinoids that are especially effective; just as in all synthesized and rarefied drugs, something vital is lost in the process. If we had access to pure, natural food, spices, and herbs (like cannabis) instead of the irradiated, pesticide, hormone, preservative-laden GMO Frankenfood the corporate world wants to foist on us, there would be little need for all of these drugs, because our immune systems would be healthy and capable of warding off disease. But then, how would a poor pharmaceutical CEO and his 1% employers, the drug cartels, and their corrupt governmental enablers survive if they weren’t profiting off of the ill health of the 99%?!